Marking the beginning of 72-day-long Onam festivities at Aranmula, the ritualistic feast of Vallasadya will take off to a start at the centuries’ old Sree Parthasarathy Temple on the banks of the Pampa in Aranmula on Sunday.
Vallasadya is an offering by the devotees to the presiding deity at the Aranmula temple, organised by the Palliyoda Seva Sanghom (PSS) in association with the Travancore Devaswom Board, the temple administrative body. The feast is offered primarily to the crew of Palliyodams (snakeboats), who will be accorded a customary reception at the temple ghats and escorted to the temple.
The oarsmen, on their part, will offer paddy, tobacco and betel leaves to the deity and circumambulate the temple by singing Vanchippattu (boat songs).
According to the organisers, as many as 450 feasts have been booked so far this season and more number of bookings are expected in the coming days. The preparation of dishes began on Saturday with the lighting of the main hearth, using the flame brought from the temple.
As many as 52 palliyodams from villages on both sides of the Pampa from Idakkulam to Chennithala in Alappuzha will take part in the festivities. The event, also a major tourist draw, had been witnessing huge public participation over the years till the pandemic outbreak. The event, however, remained subdued during the pandemic years but returned with full fervour last year.
The Aranmula regatta is scheduled on September 2, while the Ashtami Rohini Vallasadya falls on September 6. The festivities will draw to a close by October 9. The Thiruvonathoni is slated to arrive at the temple ghats on August 29.
Meanwhile, a meeting convened by Health Minister Veena George to review arrangements of the event issued directions to clear the obstructions along the Pampa river including the silt deposits to facilitate smooth arrival of the snake boats. It also decided to restore the guest house at Aranmula on a war footing and deploy a fire force unit and a scuba team throughout the season.
The Minister also directed to resume the KSRTC service connecting Pathanamthitta to Chengannur, and urged the District Tourism Promotion Council to launch a tourism package connecting the Aranmula temple here with the Sree Padmanabha Swami temple, Thiruvananthapuram.
The meeting also entrusted T.G. Gopakumar, Deputy Collector of the Disaster Management Department, and the Kozhencherry Tehsildar for coordinating the various government departs for organising the event.
